Dr Sev Ozdowski

Disability Council of NSW Submission to HREOC Taxi Inquiry

Disability Council of NSW

Official Adviser to the NSW Government

Level 21, 323 Castlereagh St., Sydney 2000

Tel/TTY 61 2 9211 2866 Fax: 61 2 9211 2271

Tollfree (Voice & TTY 1800 044 848

Email:

Internet:

Dr Sev Ozdowski

Disability Discrimination Commissioner

Disability Rights Unit

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

GPO Box 5218

SYDNEY NSW 1042

Dear Dr Ozdowski

The Disability Council of NSW is the official adviser to the New South Wales Government on issues affecting people with disabilities and their families and carers. The Council also has the role of the Disability Advisory Body to the Commonwealth Government on Commonwealth issues as they affect people with disabilities in this State.

The Council is pleased to have the opportunity to submit to the Inquiry into Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Services. The difficulties experienced by people with disabilities with the taxi service have been the subject of numerous complaints and concern for many years.

In 1998, the Disability Council of NSW produced a major report, entitled, ‘Taxis and People with a Disability – issues for Government and Industry’. (see Appendix 1) The Council submits that report to your inquiry as the basis of its advice, as many of the issues raised in your inquiry were addressed during the study. Despite specific recommendations being framed that would have led to the difficulties being minimised, if not removed, many of the recommendations remain unanswered.

However, the Council also wishes to address each of the issues you have raised in your Notice of Inquiry.

Response Times

There are continued reports of excessive waiting times for people with disabilities requiring wheelchair accessible vehicles. There are several factors that appear to affect the response rate, namely:

• the location of the pickup.

If the pickup is in the city, there is every chance that you can get a taxi quite quickly, particularly a Flashcab. However, if you are in the suburbs, and particularly the suburbs further away from the city centre or the airport, your chances diminish significantly for a quick response. It is not unusual to learn of circumstances where the passenger has waited over an hour and more for a driver to respond to a call from the 0200 network, then have to wait a further 30 minutes or more for the taxi to arrive. When the passenger is in a suburban area, the time extends proportionately as the distance from the city or airport increases.

The response times for passengers not requiring wheelchair accessible taxis can also be extended but not to the same degree. Further, the person without disability has a choice to either drive or take a lift in a private vehicle, catch a bus or train or even walk to their destination. These options are not readily available to a person with disability, particularly if that person has a mobility impairment.

The style of wheelchair accessible taxi

If a person with disability requires a taxi that can provide extra head room or extended leg space, or wants to travel with a partner also in a wheelchair, they require a van, rather than a Flashcab. Such requirement immediately reduces the number of vehicles available to do the specific job. The passenger, or passengers, requiring such accessibility then have to wait for a vehicle of suitable size to call on the job, competing with the lucrative trade such vans are doing in servicing the airport and group travel generally.

The difference in response time between a Flashcab and a van for a single passenger with no ‘special’ requests is around the same, though still excessively long in many cases. It is only when the passenger has specific requests that the response times for the different styles of vehicle significantly vary.

There are a number of concerns about the Flashcab as a suitable taxi for people with disabilities which are covered further into the submission.

In relation to the general population, the style of vehicle does not cause any disadvantage to their response times. In fact, the number of vans that have been introduced has increased their opportunities significantly for group travel and for the carriage of large amounts of luggage through the use of the accessible vans.

The level of frustration of the passenger

Through Council’s consultations, passengers with disabilities have expressed the view that they have felt disadvantaged if they continuously complained to the operator, by being left ‘on hold’ for extended periods, by their jobs appearing to receive lower priority. Though these comments are largely anecdotal, there are many instances where similar comments have been reported, leading to a view that frustration of the passenger can cause a level of ‘victimisation’ by the operator which leads to a less than satisfactory response time.

Failure to adhere to a priority for wheelchair users policy

The Council understands that the wheelchair accessible taxi plate is issued subject to the condition that the vehicle will be used primarily for people with disabilities. The Council is aware that numerous vehicles do not give priority to passengers in wheelchairs and in some cases, avoid picking up any passengers in wheelchairs as they are considered too time consuming. There does not appear to be any monitoring of the numbers of passengers in wheelchairs carried on any particular day by a wheelchair accessible taxi, either by the Department of Transport or by the taxi industry itself. The Council recommends that the need to give priority of access to people using wheelchairs be enforced, with penalties for non-compliance.

Proportion of taxi fleets accessible

The report done by the Disability Council of NSW in 1998 advised that there were, at the time, 5589 taxis operating in NSW. Of these, 186 were wheelchair accessible, a percentage of 3.3%. Since that date, the Minister announced the introduction of a further 400 plates for wheelchair accessible vehicles (August 1998). Currently, 104 of those plates are issued and on the road, as advised by the Manager of the Taxi and Hire Car Bureau, Mr James Holgate. The Minister has announced a further 300 plates, to be distributed by tender. Mr Holgate has advised that, though 120 plates have been issued, 15 are actually in service.

However, it has come to the attention of the Council that, due to a failure of the Department of Transport to include the need for vehicles to have accessible features complying to the draft Disability Transport Standards in the release of these further plates, 7 vehicles are currently operating without access provisions, though they have a plate that was issued for that purpose. The Department claims they can do nothing about that. This reduces the effective number to 8.

Therefore, the number of accessible vehicles in operation in NSW has increased to 308, with the total number of vehicles increasing to 5708. The percentage of accessible vehicles has increased to 5.4%.

Are these proportions sufficient?

The Disability Council of NSW does not believe that the percentage of accessible vehicles in NSW, 5.4%, is adequate to provide an efficient service to people with disabilities in this State. Drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics latest figures, 33.9% of the people with disabilities in Australia live in New South Wales. This equates to some 84,000 people that use a mobility aid, such as a wheelchair, in New South Wales. Given many of these people do not have an alternate method of transport, 308 vehicles are not sufficient. (Disability, Ageing and Carers: Summary of Findings 1998 4430.0)

Measures to ensure sufficient proportion accessible

The Department of Transport must ensure that every taxi fitted with a plate designated for wheelchair accessible transport is in fact fitted for that purpose. The Department has a policy that all wheelchair accessible taxis are at least compliant with the draft Disability Transport Standards and that the majority can carry two wheelchairs.

Through negotiation in 1998 with the Department and the Minister’s adviser, the Disability Council of NSW was advised that there was agreement to the issue of the ‘new’ plates being conditional to every plate issued to a network must be put on a vehicle capable of taking two chairs. If a network took five plates, one could be put on a one wheelchair vehicle. The proportion of one in five was to apply pro rata as the numbers increased. The Disability Council of NSW has not been advised, officially, of any variance to this agreement.

However, an approach has been made to the Accessible Transport Forum, the advisory group to the Minister for Transport chaired by the representative of the Disability Council of NSW, that the future issue of plates be to one wheelchair vehicles. Though concerned were expressed with the suitability of these vehicles for the wider use, there appeared a strong desire to push for one wheelchair vehicles to get the industry acceptance of the wheelchair accessible plates. There is a pressure to get the announced plates ‘on the road’.

The Council is concerned that the pressure to get the plates on the road is being applied to meet the perceptions of the ‘industry’ rather than the needs of the potential passengers. The Department claims it conducted a survey of some 300 odd Taxi

Transport Subsidy Scheme users, learning that the percentage of one wheelchair journeys was the vast majority and thereby concluding the current number of two wheelchair vehicles was adequate. Neither the Disability Council, nor the Accessible Transport Forum, were advised of this survey beforehand. The Manager of the Taxi and Hirecar Bureau, Mr Holgate, was requested to provide methodology and detail of the survey to the Forum. This has not eventuated. The Council questions the validity of this survey.

The Council has concerns with the commitment of the Road and Traffic Authority to the provision of compliance with the Draft Disability Transport Standards, as required by the Department of Transport. There are currently 7 vehicles in Sydney with plates designated for wheelchair accessible vehicles not suited to the purpose. These 7 vehicles have no access provisions. There are also a number of vehicles fitted with access plates that have less than adequate access provisions.

As an example, one vehicle has an entry height of only 1290 millimetres, compared to the Standard requirement of 1410 millimetres. It is necessary to duck one’s head when entering, then travel with the head rubbing on the roof. Another has a ramped entrance to the vehicle, with a sloping floor inside the vehicle. The passenger must travel in the wheelchair tilted backwards some ten degrees, without a proper seat belt. Both these vehicles have been passed by the RTA as fit for their purpose.

The Disability Council of NSW insists that the Department of Transport and the Road and Traffic Authority fulfil their obligation as regulators and ensure that all vehicles carrying plates designated for wheelchair accessible taxis are fully compliant to the Draft Disability Accessible Transport Standards and that the majority of vehicles are capable of carrying two people in wheelchairs.

The Disability Council of NSW also calls upon the taxi industry to support the provision of wheelchair accessible transport. The Council maintains that the vehicle, if accessible to people in wheelchairs, can also be a viable conveyance for the general public.

Universal Taxi

The Disability Council of NSW firmly believes that the provision of a vehicle that is accessible to all people is the most efficient way to provide an effective taxi service. There is no reason to believe that a vehicle that is wheelchair accessible cannot be an effective taxi. The difficulty with current vehicles, in the main, is that there a too few of them and that they are poorly designed and badly marketed to the general public.

The Council believes that there are similar difficulties being experienced across the world with the design of vehicles that can efficiently carry people in wheelchairs. However, there is little being done to overcome this problem at the design stage. Following the report issued by the Council in 1998, a Universal Design Working Group was established by the Department to investigate the possibility of such a vehicle. Little has come of it.

There is a reported reluctance by the general public to get into a van style taxi when it is on a rank or to hail it when travelling unless the passenger has a need for a larger vehicle. The general passenger does seem to accept the Flashcab more readily. However, people with a disability require a two wheelchair vehicle, necessitating a van style vehicle.

The Flashcab is the subject of many complaints by people with disabilities, for a number of reasons, such as:

• the entry/exit ramp is very steep,
• the capsule is quite cramped,
• the foot plates of the wheelchair are against the petrol tank,
• there is no exit from the vehicle should the vehicle be involved in a rear end accident,
• there is little to no room for the driver to get around the passenger and adequately secure the front of the wheelchair causing many passengers to be not secured properly,
• the driver has to lean all over the passenger while attempting to secure the chair, giving rise to complaints about inappropriate touching and sexual harrassment in some cases,
• it is difficult, if not impossible, to see the taxi meter from the rear, particularly when the meter is positioned low, under the dashboard and behind the gear shift.
• Council believes the Flashcab has not been crash tested, giving rise to concerns with the strength of the capsule in the event of a collision.

The Council believes that discussions should be commenced with worldwide vehicle manufacturers to commence designing a vehicle suitable for a taxi accessible to all people. In cannot be argued that there is no market when one thinks of the need across the world. Work could be done here to develop a set of design criteria that would suit the Australian market.

It is only when all vehicles are wheelchair accessible that there will be a true efficiency for people with disabilities accessing the taxi system.

Dedicated Services

The Disability Council of NSW does not support the concept of a dedicated service. The taxi system must be accessible to all people, irrespective of disability. To maintain the concept of dedicated services will perpetuate a system whereby people with disabilities will find it impossible to hail a cab off the street, will find it impossible to wheel up to a cab on the rank and hire a cab, will have to endure added costs for telephone calls and radio booking fees for every journey.

Economic Factors

Cost of the vehicle

Currently, the operator of a wheelchair accessible taxi receives a plate for a nominal cost, around $1,000 per annum. Operators of a general taxi pay in the vicinity of $250,000 for their plate. It is hard to rationalise the argument that the wheelchair accessible taxi driver is worse off than his counterpart.

To purchase and fit out a van as a taxi is considerably more than the cost of a sedan, naturally. However, the benefit of the cheaper plate far outweighs this alleged disadvantage.

The Council, in its 1998 report, did recommend that the Government consider some form of assistance for the purchase and fitout of wheelchair accessible vehicles. There has been no formal response to the recommendation, nor to the report itself. Possibly, it is a matter the Government could still consider.

Cost of a journey

The Council did recommend an increase in the subsidy level, from 50% of up to a $50 trip to $60 trip, then indexation. The increase to $60 was adopted but not the indexation. Council recommends that indexation be introduced.

The subsidy of 50% of the fare is also in need of review. Given the high cost of fares and the large distances to travel across Sydney as well as in rural areas, the Council believes the level of subsidy should be increased. As there is still a large area of the State not addressed by accessible public transport, an increase to 75% would greatly assist the mobility of many people with disabilities.

People living in rural areas are faced with extremely high costs for use of taxis if they travel outside the town limits. The $60 limit has little real effect on their fares as they sometimes have to travel large distances from small towns to regional centres for work, treatment or recreation. Consideration needs to be given to the extra costs they face.

Council is aware that in the Blue Mountains that there is only one wheelchair accessible taxi, serving over one hundred kilometres. If that cab travels outside of the town or village limit, the taxi demands the passenger pay for a return journey to the town departure, usually a fee of around $20 extra on the journey. The passenger usually pays the money because there is no alternative.

The Council, in its 1998 report, recommended that there be an introduction of a Smart Card system for the use of the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme users, removing the need for completion of paper dockets. The current system is open to fraudulent practice, particularly for the many people with disabilities that are unable to sign the docket or complete the docket with the amount of the fare.